Tornado prompts research into cost of climate change

The Association of British Insurers is to undertake further work into the economic effects of climate change in the aftermath of the Birmingham tornado.

The association, which held a conference at the end of June to highlight the risks of extreme weather, is to complete a report at the beginning of next year. This will then feed into the work of the Treasury, which has said it wants to make climate change a key area of concern in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

The insurance sector is keen find out how much money can be saved by ensuring that as many buildings as possible comply with the latest building codes.

Research carried out in the wake of Hurricane Andrew in the Caribbean in 1992, which was one of the biggest on record, indicated that repair costs on compliant buildings were 45% less than on those that were not.

An association source said: “We’re planning to do further work on how to quantify the costs of climate change. We’re keen to see the work done on the impact of extreme weather on social and economic infrastructures.”